We be of One Heart, He and I
by urdreamgal
Summary: Based on the Chinese drama called 'The Untamed', and the manhua, anime and novel called Mo Dao Zu Shi. Really a good story, nothing much I would change, except my fave characters Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen have like no background or history really apart from a few sentences. This story will focus on the development of their friendship over the years and result as an eventual BL.
1. The Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze

**AUTHORS NOTE/RANT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!**

**PLEASE ENJOY THE STORY, I LOVE TO READ REVIEWS TO SEE HOW MY WORKS ARE PERCIEVED BY OTHERS, SO REVIEW WHAT YOU LIKE, DISLIKE ETC SO I CAN SEE HOW WELL I'M DOING AND IF THE STORY IT WORTH COMPLETING!**

The Bright Moon and Cold Breeze

It was early summer when I met him. The sunny month when it was always warm, despite how cold Fuxue remained year 'round.

I heard the most unearthly melody in the wind as I lay down to rest that night, and the night before that, and even the night before that, but I had never heard it before in my life before then, and I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I could tell that it was man-made…most likely, but nothing else about it. It softly pleaded kindness and acknowledgement from the world, as it bravely embraced the open night sky; like fragile newly born snowflakes. Yet when I tried to locate where it was coming from…it disappeared into the silence of the night, as if a great distance stood between it and me, and all I had heard could have been an echo carried through the wind above the clouds; a secret between me and the bright white moon.

I could still feel its joy, its innocence and its sincerity, as it caressed my face kindly in the days gentle breeze. There was no singing, yet the wind pulled at my clothing energetically like an eager child, who wanted to introduce me to their new friend. The sun seemed to warm the world just a little bit more than usual during these days- even for the sunny month, and even Fuxue seemed to embrace the warmth.

After four days of nature's most playful symphonies, and three sleepless nights laid awake by the sound of heavens fairest angels' song in the calm night breeze, I couldn't sit and wait any longer. I couldn't wonder and imagine, but never _know_. Whatever it was, _whoever_ it was, it called to something inside of me, and questions plagued my mind each morning the symphonies ceased.

Would I ever hear it again? What if this was the last night? Did that bother me? _Why_ did that bother me?

I thought long and hard about a decision I had yet to make after my apprenticeship had been completed. What would I do now? Where would I go? What was my purpose I life; what could Song Lan of Baixue temple give to the world to make it a better place for all?

I asked myself these questions ceaselessly, and fate lead me back to Qi mountain, back to my old master at Baixue temple for the answer that I was _finally_ able to decide upon.

I would leave this place tonight, and begin my quest for peace and equality for the people of this world. The path I chose for myself would be lonely, as not many were likeminded or shared my unique ideals, but even so, that would be my life's mission, and tonight I would begin my journey, starting with the nearby villages at the base of the mountain which were always plagued by criminals; and perhaps along the way I could finally solve the mystery of the music in the twilight wind.

I bowed to my waist respectfully at the one-way entrance to my master's clan, and I gave it one last fleeting look before I turned and never looked back.

The closer I arrived to the criminal district of Kal'Alna the more defined the sound's in the night breeze became. It wasn't singing or instrument, it wasn't even music! It was the sound of a blade cutting through the thin night air…and the splattering of blood as it landed on the dirt ground.

I sped toward the sound with Fuxue at once, my horse whisk flailed in the wind as I held it firmly and upright behind my back as a gentleman should. Whoever was out there, whatever they were doing, I had to find out; someone could be in dire need of help!

I arrived barely in time to watch the last puppet fall to the ground. A figure stood there dressed entirely in simple white garb, and they didn't skip a beat as their feet gracefully slid around in a circle to face their newest possible threat.

I blocked his blade with Fuxue's sheath instinctively, even though I was sure he had no intent of attacking me. He gulped and stepped back timidly as he withdrew his ivory sword, and bowed to me silently and apologetically.

It was difficult tearing my gaze away from him, and I still couldn't be entirely sure that he was in fact a 'him'. He had no crest to symbolise what clan he was from, so I assumed he must have been a disciple of one of the smaller cultivating clans out there. He carried on his belt similar accessories to my own, including a white whisk.

It was difficult to place this person's identity if he wouldn't tell me it himself, but the intricate patterns of frost that shone through the blood on his blade caught my hard-pressed attention, albeit reluctantly. Fuxue recognised the frosted flowers adorned on this cultivator's weapon where I did not. It shivered where it slept, returned to my back, and recovered by the black cloth I carried to shield our identity from the world. Its yang tassel pulled slightly in the direction of the stranger. Oddly, the frosty yin tassel on the end of his swords' hilt seemed to be directing itself in my direction without the slightest breeze of wind to carry it. Spiritual resonance.

I realised for the first time that we had been regarding each other in the silent carnage of the bloodied street for quite some time. I bowed to him respectfully and stepped away from him as I held my whisk behind my back. It seemed that business had already been taken care of here, and I would be simply getting in his way if I interfered. He smiled at me and returned my bow, before he retreated to an old shack. He sheathed his blade and gingerly stretched out his arm toward the darkness of the inside.

"It's alright, there's nothing more to be afraid of. The puppets are all dead, you can come out now, and you should probably be on your way back to town before you are unfortunate enough to run into any more of them. Be sure to warn the locals of the dangers at night." He said softly. He was definitely a man, but his voice was just as soft and smooth as his features. Quite feminine and oddly attractive for young man probably a few years my junior.

A woman stumbled out from the shack nervously. She seemed to be a servant by the look of her simple yet fine clothing.

"It's- it's safe milady." She said. She winced and fell forward slightly, but she was quickly steadied by the cultivator in white.

A woman dressed in fine yellow satins 'hmphed', and carelessly knocked the girl aside to take hold of his arm to pull herself up from where she had been cowering.

I could see that he was bothered by her harsh treatment of her servant, and also at how she had taken hold of him so roughly. He gently placed his hand over hers to ease her grip, but she remained attached to him, and her cheeks flushed as she smiled up at him.

I shook myself as I tore my gaze from them to examine the bodies that lay in the street. They were peculiar; unlike regular puppets. They certainly weren't living by the time he killed them, but I checked the rest of the bodies just in case any of them were able to be saved.

"It hurts!" I heard the servant complain. I looked up to see that she had stumbled and fell to sit on a wooden crate, and the cultivator knelt at her feet addressing her injury.

"Stop whining, you are a useless excuse for a servant! Cultivator why are you seeing to her injury before mine? Can't you see that I am of noble birth? I'm more important than she is!" The lady shouted indignantly. He remained focussed on his current patient however, and the servant girl was shamed into quiet.

"Kind cultivator, it is alright, really, I'll be fine like this. My lady needs your attention." She tried to persuade, but he smiled as he finished cleaning her wound on her foot with ointment, and reached into his robes for bandages.

"Your lady's grievances have my sympathies; however, they are far less concerning than your own, and they should heal well in time. At worst the scratch on her arm from the splinters in the shack will leave a small scar. You however have a fractured bone, and torn tissue in your leg. If I don't treat you now you will definitely lose this leg; and if it becomes infected you might even lose your life. That being said, I am a cultivator adorned to no clan, even if I have offended your lady, there is no law or moral to which I must abide if I see no reason to. All people are equal in my eyes, regardless of status or wealth." He said, as he finished tying the bandage on the girls' leg.

Her mistress glared at him and firmly stuck out her chin.

"_Scar_ me?! Young cultivator, I demand you use your Qi to heal my injuries at once! A woman of my standing can't have scars! How will I find a husband? Who is your master? I will send men to report your behaviour to him as soon as we reach safety! Well? Tell me!" She shouted at him. Her cheeks flushed more brightly and her eyes widened in her anger.

The cultivator bowed respectfully to the angered woman. I thought it was to apologise, but instead he did as she asked of him and introduced himself.

"I am Xiao Xingchen, I am a disciple of- "

I didn't intend to step in, after all it was none of my business…but this man was only doing what was right by his beliefs; my own beliefs, and I couldn't stand by and watch him be humiliated by a petty and ungrateful person, my conscience wouldn't allow it.

"He is- "I stepped forward and tapped his arm lightly with my whisk, before I joined my arms in front of me in a shallow but polite bow. He looked at me curiously, and I looked back at the woman, who only just seemed to realise that it wasn't only the three of them standing in the rundown village street after all, "my apprentice. I am Song Lan, a former disciple of Baixue temple, nearby the town where you are headed, I believe. He…" I trailed off, and I looked Xiao Xingchen up and down as he straightened himself and smiled at me slightly, "has done nothing to shame me, our temple or himself. Your injury will heal in time, and as it was not caused by his own actions; he is not obligated to assist you on this matter. Regardless if your…scratch…is healed by him or not; both of you will retain scars both inside and out after this incident. I'm sorry that we can't be of greater assistance to you, please forgive us, and we will accompany you back into town." I finished.

The woman must have felt intimidated by my demeaner, or perhaps by my words, as she nodded once unhappily, seemingly dropping the matter.

Xiao Xingchen crouched to the ground and allowed the injured servant to mount his back. I turned to lead the way out of the village, but the noble woman reached for my sleeve from my hand that I held behind me to pull me down. I swiftly escaped her reach, and held my sleeve in front of myself for brief inspection.

I winced and reached for her without catching her as she fell to the ground, and cried out in indignation.

"You! - "She wailed. I could feel the back of my neck begin to sweat in shame.

"My sincere apologies. I do not like having direct contact with others…it is…a regrettable flaw and incompetence on my part. You are uninjured however, and there is no reason for you to be carried by another. Follow us closely, and I will lead you back into the safety of the next town. Once you are rested, you can travel to Baixue temple by yourselves. My master will most likely send one of his disciples to accompany you to wherever you were headed before you met misfortune." I apologised. I felt my ears burn with shame, but the thought of her contaminating me sent my heart into a frenzy! She was covered in blood, dirt and grime…I couldn't bare the thought of someone so _unclean_ touching me…_sweating_ all over me. I shivered, and hastily walked forward and a safe distance ahead of the party.

While they were following me, I felt Xiao Xingchen's moonlit eyes on my back. I was glad that he couldn't see my hand fisted uncomfortably beneath my sleeve. I disliked attention, I disliked praise even more, but what I disliked most was judgement by those who couldn't understand my affliction. He was probably wondering how I could continue to conduct myself as a gentleman after I treated the lady so shamefully. I had no desire to explain myself further to a stranger either. I would leave the party the moment I was sure that I held true to my word.

We had almost arrived at the town I had promised to deliver them to when a ruckus alerted me to trouble on the road ahead. I stopped in my tracks and lifted my free hand to halt the movement of those behind me.

"There seems to be a problem ahead. Please wait here for a moment, I will return to you once I have addressed the matter." I called, before I continued forward at a hastier pace. The lady mumbled something in panic, but I paid her no heed. She would be safe with Xiao Xingchen, and by the snoring I heard behind me, it wasn't likely that Xiao Xingchen could move unless it was urgently required.

"Hand it over and no one will get hurt! Leave your money and a days' worth of food in a basket on the ground, and I will let you leave! Do-do as I say or…or I'll kill you!" A scruffy man ordered, as he held a blade directed at a frightened cart driver.

He didn't seem too fearful himself; he had obviously preformed such a stunt in the past with success…whether he had claimed a life before today or not would remain to be seen.

With a single strike of my whisk to his wrist, the old blade fell to the ground. The man cried out in pain and scampered away from the cart.

"Cultivator! Cultivator, please! It's not what it looks like…this man…he!" He began, but I had long ago mastered the art of lie detection through a person's intentions.

"Enough," I said coldly, and frowned at him before assessing the damage he had caused. One broken wheel on the cart. His blade seemed too dull and fragile to have ever taken a life before, none the less… "I can understand the need to steal under such circumstances and in such poor conditions, none the less it is still wrong."

"Yes! Yes, great cultivator, you are right!" He said pitifully, as he kowtowed at my feet, flicking dirt at my boots in his haste.

"If you apologise to this man for your actions, repair the damage to his cart's wheel that you caused by the end of the day, and give me your word that you will never take, or threaten another's life ever again, I will not hand you over to the authorities in this town, and I will reward you with a meal. Do you accept my terms?" I asked him. He stared up at me in relief. After all, the punishment for theft in the markets was usually a harsh beating, the punishment for theft by the cultivators was usually far harsher…yet I could see in this man's eyes that even though he had been driven to such measures, he would never have stolen if he had had any other opportunities for survival open to him.

"Th-thank you, oh kind cultivator!" He praised and bowed again. I sighed to rid myself of the discomfort I felt, before I turned to the cart owner and bowed to him too.

"Is this punishment to your satisfaction?" I asked him. He grumbled and glared scornfully at the man who hurriedly lifted himself to his feet.

"No, it's not…but I suppose it will do." He grunted, and the man looked down at his attacker scornfully as he knelt at his feet.

"Sir, please accept my apology. I did only what I felt I needed to, to bring back some money and food for my family as I have no trade or home." He apologised, and I felt guilt overcome me. The cart owner also reluctantly nodded his head at the apology, and gestured for the man to help him carry the unsteady cart into town with him.

"Where is your family, if you don't mind my asking?" I asked the man as he struggled, but used all his strength to carry the cart under his folded hands. He grunted and huffed as they slowly made their way forward to find a suitable location for the merchant to sell his produce of cabbages and beets.

"My wife is in the town you have just come from. Our three children should be helping her build up our new home right on the outskirts. We lost everything when we fled from bandits who raided and set fire to our old home…sadly my daughters' pet was caught in the fire…it must sound silly, but I used the last of our money to buy her a toy that looked just like it to stop her crying." He huffed tiredly.

The town…_oh no_, this poor man… I grimaced. There was no way there was a living person left in that morbid town…still, it could be that his family had fled before the puppets arrived, I would have to check before burdening him with such sorrowful news.

"I have duties elsewhere, but I will return before the end of the day to uphold my promise." I told them. They nodded as they both got to work, setting up a shop, and mending the broken wheel.

I remembered that I left Xiao Xingchen and the women behind, and I went back to see to them…only they weren't there anymore. It wasn't too far from town, and I did take quite long…they probably went on ahead by themselves.

I looked back toward the town curiously for a moment…it would have been nice to properly introduce myself to my fellow cultivator, but we knew each other's names already, and I didn't feel like hearing any more gratitude, so I left on my way. The world wasn't so vast; our paths were likely to cross again someday.

**AN/: My first bromance/BL story! I'm honestly surprised at myself on this one. The story protag will be Song Lan/Song Zichen, Any Xue Yang x Xiao Xingchen shippers be warned, this is NOT the story for you, so sorry. Honestly I have no idea how people can be die hard fans of something when they don't understand more than half of whats going on! If I take interest in something I research it thouroughly and pay very close attention to every moment of the story, ESPECIALLY where my OTP or fave characters are involved. I've complained about this on YouTube videos and Tumblr, but one out of two households GLOBALY are subject to domectic violence and psychopathic behavior/abuse. Understandably you can see where I get PO where people harp on about what bad chidhood Xue Yang had and how much he loved Xingchen...no, okay? NO. There is no 'love' between Xingchen and Xue Yang. As I've said before, it more likely that Xue Yang admired Xingchen and wanted to be like him, but he knew it was impossible so he tried to make Xingchen like him instead. You do not force or trick someone you care for to do something they abore. Xingchen was a kind, gentle and pure soul who wanted nothing more that to help people and make the world a better place. Xue Yang made him a murderer by tricking him into killing innocent people while he was blind! How is that love? He knew how much Xingchen loved Song Lan(as a friend or lover, who knows, but he DID love Song Lan) and yet he tormented both Xingchen and Song Lan and worse, tricked Xingchen to kill Song Lan of all people! Xingchen COMMITED SUICIDE when he realised that he killed Song Lan! He was disgusted by Xue Yang and wanted to escape him but he knew he couldn't and how could he when Song Lan was being used by Xue Yang? The people who tell me that 'Xue Yang made Xingchen kill people so that they could be the same' are seriously delusional and psychopathic because THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR WHAT Xue Yang DID! Think about this for a moment, Xue Yang wouldn't even let Xingchen rest in peace, he wanted to FORCE Xingchen to live as a fierce corpse and FORCE him to continue killing innocent people! Are you people insane or something? THAT IS NOT LOVE! Xue Yang was playing a game! Just when, and I QUOTE 'He won again. It was an overwhelming victory.-Exiled Rebals Scanlations', Xingchen stole that victory away from Xue Yang and ending the game. Can you imagine for a moment that you killed yourself to escape a monsterous person and then that same person cleans, undresses and redresses your corpse like a doll, and tried to bring it back to life where you will suffer in their company forever and do the exact opposite thing that you ever wanted to do in the world? OF COURSE Wei Wuxian couldn't save Xingchen's soul! That is how badly he wanted to escape Xue Yang, how much he HATED him!**

**Now let me guess, you think it was out of kindness that Xue Yang helped Xingchen out at the market place a few times? WRONG! He is a psycopath! Xingchen did EVERYTHING for him, almost like a servent! He fixed their coffin beds, he cooked and cleaned, he did everything! Xue Yang was getting bored of his game until Song Lan finally showed up to save Xingchen! (Oh and I suppose Xue Yang lovers don't care much that Xue Yang harmed and killed A-Qing so horribly huh? Her life wasn't even worth his one finger, was it? Or the entire Chang sect, children, women, pet, innocents in general that died, of course you guys think that HIS FINGER was more important. Let me remind you that he destroyed COUNTLESS small cultivation clans aswell, not JUST Chang sect, he was jeolous of Song Lan's friendship with Xingchen so he killed everyone at Baixue temple and even torchured Song Lan's master to death for over ten days! He blinded Song Lan just because he wanted the ONE PERSON Xingchen loved to hurt him somehow! Well, one thing Xue Yang didn't think Xingchen would do is GIVE Song Lan his own eyes, but that just made Xingchen a more interesting person to mess around with.**

**Xue Yang as a child...ok fine, I actually like him as a child. No complaints there. BUT. Look at Naruto, look at every single character in history who overcame their EVER WORSE childhood's and made something better of themselves and their fictional worlds. Xue Yang has no one to blame but himself for being the way he was, and he actually BLAMED Xingchen for MAKING him kill all those people. Say whaaaaat?!**

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**Last thing to say. I honestly believe in the Song Lan x Xiao Xingchen relationship BECAUSE of everything we already know. Xingchen was forbidden to return to Baosan Sansen or his sect. He is THE MOST, even more that Lan Wangji, honesrable character in the entire story, and yet he broke a promise to his master, his sect, his FAMILY, to try and help Song Lan. He gauged out BOTH his eyes BY HIMSELF for Song Lan, and because he was afraid of hurting Song Lan any more, he left, all on his own and practically peniless and defenceless. Song Lan instantly regretted his harsh words of grief to Xingchen and wanted badly to reconcile and apologise to him. He searched for Xingchen for years! When he finally found Xingchen he was how Xue Yang was taking advantage of Xingchens blindness and CRIED for him! He realised that if Xingchen found out that he was living with Xue Yang that he would be disgusted with himself, he knew it was his fault that Xingchen was so lonely in the first place, so before he could reconcile with Xingchen he tried to kill Xue Yang. Do you know that Song Lan COULD have killed Xingchen to free him from Xue Yang, but he didn't have the heart to? He knew it would break Xingchen's heart if he showed Xingchen who he had just killed. The fact that Xue Yang tried to pretend that nothing ever happened after he tricked Xingchen into killing Song Lan is proof of how evil he is, and when Xingchen killed himself, despite being under Xue Yang's control, he trembled in sorrow! IMO you don't go to such extremes for another person unless you are in love with them, I'm talking about Xingchen and Song Lan ofc, Xue Yang wasn't doing it out of care, or love, he was doing it because he wanted to own Xingchen as a possession and blacken his name.(Don't get me started on how Xue Yang murdered people with Shuanghua and in disguise as Xingchen to make people hate Xingchen. He even hunted down the surviving Chang's and gauged out Chang Ping's eyes before torchuring him to death...imo he was killing Xingchen all over again in his rotten little head.)**

**Ok, rant over. Enjoy the Xingchen X Zichen story! Xue Yang lovers be gone!**


	2. The Distant Snow and Cold Frost

**AN/: Chapter 2 is here! Dissapointed with the lack of reviews, but I have become aware that Tumblr and AO3 are more popular these days for fanfics...so this story won't get out as easily as they do.**

**Being said, this is a slow burn CanonDIVERSION fanfic! Some details will be the same, others won't, I am plotting character backstorys behind Xingchen and Zichen atm, and a rather halerious chapter where Xingchen enters a pagent...its going to be good!**

**PS to readers, follow my stories carefully because not everything is as it seems, and the village of Kal'Alna is a reference to the original Yu-Gi-Oh series. Bakura was also a great villain!**

The Distant Snow and Cold Frost

The village of Kal'Alna was dyed red in blood and the summer heat caused the puppets decay to hasten, and the bodies to rot so much faster. I felt guilty as I covered my sleeve over my mouth and nose for protection from the stench and viral contaminations. I was afraid of contracting a sickness, while these people's souls were suffering and unable to find peace because of their horrible and tragic deaths.

I searched the village three times over until I was sure that the shack I had seen before must have been the beginnings of the man's family's new home. I had already examined the bodies of the people in the streets, and the worn-down homes beside them, but not many of the corpses were female, and none of them were children's bodies either which was definitely a good sign.

No news in such a situation was always good news.

I took a deep breath into my sleeve before I abandoned it to push the plank of wood; which was their door, aside. I inspected the room carefully. One large straw bed lay beside two smaller ones covered in rags. There were no bodies or blood inside the small home.

I was about to leave when I saw part of a cat shaped toy sticking out of the heaps of rags on the floor. I picked it up slowly, and caught a small movement from beneath the cloth. My heart squeezed as I pulled it up, but only a scared little mouse leapt out at me, and it quickly fled. I closed my eyes in relief.

The bodies in the town would only release disease and resentful energy if left as they were, and their spirits would never be able to rest in peace if their corpses weren't incinerated and purified. Perhaps Xiao Xingchen would have done so himself if not for the lives' he was responsible with delivering to safety.

When I was certain that I had covered every corpse I found with a talisman for purification fire, I released the seal on them all at once, and they combust and purified the bodies whose souls waited to ascend to heaven.

While the purification process was underway, I decided to search nearby for a stream to aid my delayed morning cleansing. I found something else instead.

The bodies of four people.

Two of the bodies were of boys around the ages of ten and twelve, around the age I had been when I was recruited by my master to become his disciple at Baixue temple, and the small body of a young girl who couldn't have been older than five lay beside them. They were lined up neatly next to each other with their arms over their chests at peace, a contrast to the vicious gashes drawn across their throats.

The fourth body was a woman. She lay beside the little girl with one of her bloodied hands clawed over the girls clasped hands, and her other hand held loosely onto the knife that was sunk deeply into her chest. It appeared that she murdered her three children and then committed suicide, but something about her expression didn't seem…

There were _bruises_ all over their bodies. Bruises on their ankles and on their necks and heads…hand marks, scrapes, and scratches…and on closer inspection as I knelt to examine their corpses, their throats were cut _too_ deeply for them to have been cut last night by their frightened mother.

It was difficult to interpret the woman's expression or the emotion that had been in her eyes at the moment of her death. There was obvious sadness and regret, as well as fear; all of which were justifiable and seemed explainable. They weren't killed with the rest of the puppets, that much was certain. The puppets I purified only moments ago didn't have signs of struggle or abuse on their bodies at all. They were clearly murdered with a blade before being cut down by Xiao Xingchen later the same night.

I sighed in sorrow. Nothing could be done about the past. While I was familiar with inquiry, I didn't have a quin to play to activate it. I could have investigated further, but Baixue temple did not let us keep any of the instruments we practiced with once we left the sect.

I covered their bodies with fire purification talismans, and I briefly considered giving the straw cat toy back to the little girl to send her off with it…but if the father wanted to return home to investigate and grieve by himself…I couldn't leave him with nothing at all to remember his family by. Their small home left nothing for him to return to after all.

Instead I left the children each a few notes of money for luck, and I lit the family's bodies together. I stood outside the village and prayed for the villager's souls. It was truly terrible that someone had taken it upon themselves to destroy an entire village worth of lives, but hopefully finding the culprit wouldn't be too difficult.

Once the smell of burnt flesh became too much for me, I had to leave, and I began my trek back to town to fulfil my promise to the man, and deliver to him the woeful news.

I didn't want to lie to the man about his family, but I would need to find a way to tell him that he wouldn't be seeing them again for a long while. Thinking of ways to give his daughters toy to him troubled me, and the fact that his wife killed herself and their children; even if it was to protect them from the puppets, also troubled me.

It was the beginning of the evening when I saw a figure dressed in white standing at the exact place I remembered leaving him at that morning. I couldn't help myself as I snorted softly and walked up to him.

"Are you waiting for someone here?" I asked him. he turned to look at me with sparkling eyes and a sincere smile that I felt myself return uncomfortably. I hid my discomfort as he lifted his arms and bowed to me, letting his white whisk fall over his sleeve elegantly.

"Yes, for _you_ actually. I wanted to thank you for your help earlier before I depart this town, and I overheard a merchant in town say that you would be back before the end of the day…" he said, and he frowned slightly, "I…decided to deliver the women to an inn in town when you left, but I meant to aid you as soon as I got back; when I did, you were already gone. I wasn't sure if you would appreciate a tagalong…"

I smiled awkwardly at him; it was difficult not to return his smile when our situations were so similar.

"I was the one to intrude on your night hunt this morning; it would be wrong for me to accept thanks that I do not deserve." I said, and copied his bow which seemed to fluster him slightly as his cheekbones shaded lightly, like pale pink blossoms.

"Thank you, daozhang Song, but I was thanking you for…for stepping in for me earlier when the lady chastised me." He clarified. My ears burnt at his thanks and my neck began to sweat; reminding me that I badly needed a bath. I took a step away from him and his smile diminished somewhat. I could see the wheels in his head turning, and I didn't want to answer any of the questions I knew he wanted to ask me.

"Well then you are welcome…" I said, and my eyes caught sight of the intricate hilt of his sword again as it slept in its sheath on his back. He caught me looking at it and he gulped softly as he slowly lifted his gaze toward mine again.

"I…I hate to trouble you, but do you think I could buy you a drink so you could answer a few questions of mine? It doesn't have to be now! I need to head back to that village to finish my work, but…if you are staying here tonight, or if you know which direction you will be heading…I could catch up with you?" He asked me politely.

I had no rank or prestige yet, but I always seemed to intimidate people. Xiao Xingchen didn't seem intimidated by me at all, and I secretly smiled at his enthusiasm and friendliness…and the ability not to judge a book by its cover. Not many people were as openly open as he seemed to be and I found his manner refreshing.

"A drink wouldn't hurt I suppose. You don't need to return to Kal'Alna, I sent off the departed souls before I left…" I trailed off and frowned as my eyes caught sight of someone familiar. I watched the man who attempted to rob the merchant this morning carrying a pale of water back into town.

It wasn't strange that he was carrying a pale of water; it was hot, and he was most likely sent away by the merchant to find and bring back the pale for them both to have a drink…

It was _what else_ I noticed that made me furrow my brow and stare at him intently. He hid it well, but to the trained eye one could spot how he refused to put pressure on his right leg…he was limping. What's more, he had taken off his shirt and laid his chest bare, revealing many strange red marks on his body which would no doubt be gone in a few days…but they wouldn't have shown up as brightly as they were now unless they were made quite recently, at least within a day or two.

I noticed that Xiao Xingchen decided to watch him as well.

"Daozhang Xiao, earlier today did you see that man behaving…oddly?" I asked him. He hummed softly, jarring my train of thought slightly with the soft sound.

"Not particularly. Why? Do you know that man?" He asked me curiously. I nodded once briskly.

"Do you…have you learnt inquiry from your master?" I asked him. He nodded.

"I have mastered inquiry, but what would you need my help for?" He asked me bewildered. I took a deep breath and sighed. I could be reading too much into the matter…the poor man just lost his new home and his family…

Still, my conscience wouldn't let me pretend that he was not suspicious. Not all the evidence laid out before me back in that field added up just yet…and I needed to know why.

"I don't really know that man. I met him this morning. He attempted an assault on the merchant who he is now repaying with labour. I resolved the matter, but something doesn't feel right to me. It could just be my imagination…" I explained, and he nodded softly before he smiled at me lightly.

"I don't know why you would need my help; you are as great a cultivator as any I have met, but if I can assist you I will." He said gladly. I nodded once and shyly cast my gaze away. It wasn't…normal for a young man to smile as much as he did. He was obviously a skilled cultivator, but I didn't think that he was ready to leave his own temple yet, of course I couldn't say as much for sure, and I knew I couldn't judge him with what little knowledge I had observed about him.

"Thank you. We will need to return to Kal'Alna after all then, and make our way back here before the sun sets so that I can fulfil a promise. I suggest we use our swords for travel." I replied, as I pulled the cloth off Fuxue's hilt, and pulled it off my back. It hovered above the ground where I dropped it, and obediently ascended as I stood on it's flat. As it usually did, it breathed out a soft breath of frost from within its sheath. This time it rattled excitedly as we flew. It wasn't unsteady, but it was…_excited_.

"… Daozhang Song? Will you tell me what it is that you want me to do?" Xiao Xingchen asked from beside me. I lifted my fingers in front of me to better control my Fuxue with my Qi. It flew closer and closer toward Xiao Xingchen until our swords were only a hairs breadth from their tassels tickling each other. Fuxue was usually as…_cold_ as I was. Its actions boggled my mind.

"That man claimed that his actions were driven by the obligation to provide for his family here in Kal'Alna," I told him as I descended Fuxue. I lifted my hand and its quivering sheath flew up into my palm, "I returned after I thought that you had left, so that I could purify the victim's souls and find out if he was telling the truth…and…to see if his family perhaps survived."

"Oh… You didn't find them? Is that why you need me to play inquiry?" He asked me, as he kept up with my pace. I walked past the shack into the field where smoke had almost faded leaving only a small indication of where their ashes would be; purification flames only purified, they did not harm the world unbiddenly.

I stopped before it and turned to face Xiao Xingchen.

"They weren't among the puppets. They were right here," I told him, gesturing to the ashes that appeared to be no more than sand among sand, and would no doubt be swept away with the wind in coming days, or returned to the earth, "There were three children; _murdered_, I assumed by their mother, the evidence was all there."

"That…that's horrible!" He exclaimed, then shook himself, "…If you know that she did it, then…why did we have to come back here? Their souls should be just about gone by now…" He asked me in confusion and clutched the sheath of his sword.

"Because of the _other_ evidence," I told him, and I pulled out the straw cat toy from my robes. It was a dearly loved toy that belonged to the girl, it should have had some connection to her.

"There were bruises on all of them, even on their mother. The children's throats were cut too harshly for it to be done by a fearful, or even a furious woman. Their bodies were aligned neatly side by side, and the mother," I shook my head as I frowned, "The father has light bruising on his body too, evidence of a struggle, or some sort of conflict. He was limping too. I can't help but wonder…did he already know about this? Did he escape? Did he have anything to do with the puppets in the village?" I asked curiously. Xiao Xingchen seemed to be on the same train of thought I was on.

"Was he…perhaps trying to steal money and food to aid his escape from the crime? If he wasn't responsible for any of this, could he know who is?" Xiao Xingchen asked, and curled his index finger over his mouth in contemplation. I nodded and we shared a look of understanding.

"I was only taught inquiry with my temples instruments…I don't have one of my own." I explained. He nodded, and out of thin air he manifested…a xiao flute. A difficult to play flute which had its mouth piece positioned vertically. I frowned again, was his name really Xiao Xingchen? Or did he make up that name on the spot? He seemed…too chivalrous for deceit.

"What should I ask them?" He asked me, as his lips hovered over the mouth piece.

"Ask them _who_ killed them…and _why_." I said, and he began playing. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was _that_ song again! The melody in the night wind changed at times, and as unlikely as it could be that it was his sword which sang during his night hunts that I heard, I was almost willing to believe that the melody had been a trick of the ear, yet…here it was again…and it ended too soon.

"We…we should get back to town." He said with down cast eyes, and his xiao dissipated back into a spirit pouch I hadn't noticed on his belt before. The smile he wore from the moment I first laid eyes on him was gone, and the new born wonder in his eyes was replaced with sadness.

Our flight was swift, and Xiao Xingchen confirmed my suspicions along the way. I could understand how such an atrocious act could leave a person upset, but he seemed to grieve for the family almost as much as if he were a member of their family himself. He didn't even try to hide his displeasure, what with his taut expression and furrowed brow.

"Daozhang Song, does this…is this common behaviour of men in the mortal world?" I heard him ask me as we stepped back into town together with the setting sun warming our backs, and the cold night breeze finally began relieving the days heated abuse.

I sighed as I turned to look at him. My words caught in my throat as I found myself finally taking a moment to appreciate his features in the golden light of the sun.

His skin was pale and as flawless as the finest jade. His lips were light pink and thin, only the line of his mouth was daringly darker, and his eyes were darker than onyx; the contrast between them and his attire was stark, yet they weren't hard and cold, or wise and experienced, they were soft and kind, sincere and innocent, as if this had honestly been the first horrific even he had seen in his life.

I forgot his question, but nothing I could have said would have made him feel better anyway, so I resumed my way toward the man and the merchant. Xiao Xingchen did not follow me further.

"Oh! Merciful cultivator you have returned! Here it is, it took me a whole day to mend properly too." He said, and he smiled at me as he presented me with the mended cart wheel he had gone so far as to even polish after its completion.

I nodded and handed the merchant a small piece of silver in return for two large cabbages and a string of three beets. I handed to the man who accepted them gratefully.

"Thank you! Now I can leave to bring food home to my family, I can't thank you enough! I'll be on my way now before it gets too dark." He said. He nodded at me and stored his reward in his shirt which he had recovered himself with in our absence. I knew how Xiao Xingchen felt. How could a man who took pride in his work, and showed such gratitude and respect to others possibly be a cold-hearted murderer?

I watched him walk the opposite direction to Kal'Alna and I furrowed my brow as I glared at his back in suspicion.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, sir, but this is for you. I saw a little girl today when I paid a visit to your new home village for my cultivating work; I think it belongs to your daughter, am I correct? You should keep it with you until you return home to deliver it back to her safely." I said, and handed him the straw cat toy I had hidden in my robes.

His expression paled instantly, but he smiled at me with thin lips and frightened eyes.

"O-oh? You saw my little A-Anke?" He asked me hesitantly, not giving anything away. This moment would determine to me who was truly responsible for the deaths of his family.

"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!" He said more energetically. I narrowed my eyes at his back as he ran out of town, the right way toward Kal'Alna. He didn't so much as limp as he ran. Either it didn't hurt as much as it had earlier, or he had renewed motive to return to his village to take care of unfinished business.

Xiao Xingchen had been watching us all solemnly, but his eyes followed the man coldly as he passed him, without moving an inch out of the man's way. He looked confused and betrayed as his eyes met mine. He wanted to ask me something, but he didn't seem to think it would do him any good.

Instead, he turned his back toward me coldly, and began walking back the way the man ran. I followed him.

It was going to be a long night.


	3. The Village of Kui Zhou

**AN/: ENJOY AND REVIEW! NEEDS TO BE EDITED, BUT TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR!**

The Village of Kuizhou

'_When I asked the girl who killed her, she replied that she doesn't remember who it was.' Xiao Xingchen explained as we flew._

'_Are you sure you played it the right way?' I tried to confirm, but not even an ounce of doubt set into his features._

'_Of course; I would never have deemed myself ready to set out on my own if I wasn't sure of my abilities.' He chided me mildly, as if he were scolding a child._

'_She said, 'I don't remember who it was, I didn't see him.'. Spirits have to answer my call, and they can't lie even if they wanted to,' he said, and stroked his horsetail whisk that he elegantly hung over his arm as a fur, 'She did say 'him' though, so it couldn't have been her mother…surely a mother wouldn't kill her own children…?' He asked me beseechingly._

_It wasn't common, but it did happen under strained and fearful circumstances. Surely, he should have known something like this already. He was definitely accomplished, but I wondered about his worldly experiences. Perhaps he was a runaway from some noble sect up north who had been sheltered his entire life? I sighed as I drifted another meter away from him. I didn't like that he was close enough to me that the fabric of our clothes kept brushing in the wind._

'_It sometimes happens. If they can't look after their children and don't want them to suffer and die from disease and starvation, or perhaps because they wish to save them from some terrible fate…such as soul consumption, or corpse poisoning.' I elaborated. He shook his head as if he refused to believe me._

'_It is possible that the girl didn't want to acknowledge that it was her father that killed her and her family. She wouldn't be lying if she told you something she believed wholeheartedly.' I supplemented, and this time he agreed. Not that being murdered by her father made the situation any better, but now he was a suspect, and he still lived to be judged and punished._

'_Did she tell you why she thought she was killed, or why she was bodily harmed?'_

'_She said she got them from running and falling, and she didn't know why someone would want to hurt her family, she only knew that her parents were fighting a lot after they arrived in this village.'_

I caught up with Xiao Xingchen on the road but unlike before where he seemed eager for conversation, he ignored me.

I reminded myself that I didn't owe him an explanation, and seeing as he seemed bothered by my decision and my presence, I decided to let him walk alone.

The villager wasn't in our sights anymore, but I knew where he was headed. I dropped Fuxue to the ground and ascended to the skies. The lower clouds helped hide me, and the altitude kept the man in my sight.

I was surprised when Xiao Xingchen flew up to join me from behind. It took a while for him to willingly close the distance between us, but I knew that sooner or later his curiosity would get the better of him.

"Daozhang Song, you have confused me… You know that this man is guilty of murdering his family, yet you proceeded to reward him simply to keep your word. You even spared his life… Why? So that he can attack another person later? Kill them too? Of course, I don't mean that you should end his life by your own sword, but isn't it a cultivator's responsibility to protect the people and uphold justice? To bring peace and salvation to those who need it?" He asked me.

"I simply don't want to punish an innocent man. _Look at him_, if I gave him to Baixue temple's cultivators they would execute him before hearing what he has to say. He is a beggar and a thief, nothing he says to them will be credible in their eyes. Does that mean his say is unneeded? Did we actually confirm for certain that he is guilty? Don't you want to hear his reasons for his actions if he did indeed kill his family?" I asked him, and watched as his expression changed from upset to one of understanding.

"I… you don't think he is guilty? I understand what you are saying, but why do you think that he is not the culprit after everything we have already found out about him?" He asked me softly.

"I didn't say that I didn't think he was guilty. I said I would rather punish a man _proven_ guilty instead of one who could be innocent. I don't want to act before I am certain, because I don't want to make the wrong decision that could cost him his life. _He looks guilty_, but maybe _he_ is the one who needs our help instead." I explained. His features softened as he regarded me. Slowly, his soft smile returned. He nodded accepting my decision, and we followed silently above the man.

"Why did he decide to return to the village anyway if he already knew his was already dead?" He asked me. I shook my head as we slowly descended to the ground, and watched the man enter the village.

"That's what we are going to ask him. There are many holes in his story."

We slowly made our way into Kal'Alna together. The village looked desolate, and the young night breeze had almost swept away the smell of smoke and burnt flesh from earlier. I swallowed a knot in my throat, and sucked my cheek in guilt as I watched him run into his rundown home looking for his daughter.

Xiao Xingchen's white horsetail whisk gently brushed my hand. I started at the contact, and looked at him beside me. He looked both forgiving and understanding.

"It's not your fault," he told me gently, and a determined yet compassionate look settled in his eyes as he held my gaze, "he needed to come back here one way or another. We are just doing our jobs. Whether we punish him or help him depends on the truth, right? Let's go and talk to him…perhaps I should approach him first?"

He smiled at me reassuringly and walked forward with a serene gait that I could help but admire.

"Excuse me sir." He began. He bowed in apology to the man who jumped and spun to look at him in a panic.

"W-who?" He asked through his chattering teeth, and panted from his exertion; remarkably, he had run most of the way back to the village, a lot of effort for a man who believed he had nothing to return to.

Xiao Xingchen didn't say as much, but we both know that the matter wasn't set in stone, not yet. The man had no reason to return to the scene of the crime if he was guilty, especially if someone had survived to tell about his crimes. Letting him return home was part of the test to see how much he already knew about what happened.

I suspected more surely that he was guilty after he claimed his reward and didn't seem interested in returning to Kal'Alna, but after learning that I had already met his daughter, who was still alive, he immediately rushed home…throwing my judgement further into uncertainty.

"Where is my family? That cultivator! He said he saw my daughter!" The man shouted frantically and attempted to rush past Xiao Xingchen toward me, but Xiao Xingchen stopped him and barred him from me with his horsewhisk. I stepped forward and bowed apologetically to the man.

"I am sincerely sorry about deceiving you earlier in town. I led you here because I am trying to find justice for your family who I found dead in the fields a little way away from your home. You should know, the evidence I have collected so far is all directed toward one culprit." I said, and pointed my horsewhisk at him.

His eyes widened in fear, and the cabbages and beets he carried in his shirt all came tumbling out as he jolted back and away from us in fear.

"You think I did this?" He asked us fearfully, watching us carefully as if we were cobras ready to strike.

"Prove us wrong. Your children and your wife had bruises and scrapes all over their bodies; and you do too, don't you?" I asked him.

"You don't seem surprised that your family is gone either, why is that?" Xiao Xingchen asked him softly, but seeing how afraid the man was, seemed to make Xiao Xingchen treat him more carefully.

"I-I don't know, I…_you_! Why did you lie to me?" He yelled brokenly and he pointed at me in despair. He rocked on his feet as if his legs itched to flee and escape, but he knew it wouldn't save him.

"Don't blame Daozhang Song, it was you who returned here of your own volition. What was the hurry? You didn't intend to return here before you received your daughters' toy, did you? You don't seem surprised to hear that tragedy struck; did you already know, or…suspect that they might not have been here when you returned?" Xiao Xingchen asked the man.

The man closed his eyes tightly and his cheeks wobbled in despair. Tears wet his lashes and fell freely down his cheeks, leaving clean trails down his filthy face.

"There is no reason left for me to hide the truth anymore. You will probably kill me or take me to be killed by someone else anyway." The man sobbed, and fell back against the weak wall of the shack. I was surprised that it was sturdy enough to support his weight. He picked up the straw cat toy that had fallen to the ground with the vegetables and held it miserably with his trembling hands. Xiao Xingchen seemed to want to say something to him to ease his fears and discomfort, but I tapped him lightly with my whisk stopping him.

"I come from the village of Kuizhou, we only arrived here at Kal'Alna a few days ago. Kal'Alna is well known for crime and murder…we wouldn't have come here at all, but we didn't have any choice." He said sorrowfully. He never took his eyes off his keepsake, and he didn't stutter.

"There was a boy in the village, a thief and a troublemaker. He was one of the many orphans on our village's streets. Whenever there was shouting and fighting, he would be found. I don't know how many times I saw him beaten and left outside the village or in an ally to die."

I shifted my weight slightly as I listened intently.

"Didn't anyone ever help him? Did you?" Xiao Xingchen asked.

"Of course not." The man said in the same dead tone which he told his story in.

"He was violent too, he had a knife and would cut anyone who came too close to him, friend or foe. I beat him a number of times myself, when he tried to steal my candy. My wife spent all day labouring over those sweets for me to sell the next day, we tried to make an honest living for our family and we were doing a good job at it too."

"The boy was gone for over a year, we thought he finally tired of stealing and the beatings, and decided to leave for the next town; Kal'Alna would have suited him much better if you ask me. Then almost a week ago he returned. He wasn't wearing his old rags anymore but a clean set of fine robes, and in his hand, he held a black sword." The mans hands shook more as he talked about this stranger.

"He took what he wanted from our carts and tables, he didn't spare us a glance or pay us for what he took, but there was something foreboding about him that made us keep silent. None of us liked the idea of letting him walk over us as he was, and my neighbour sent his son to an inn where cultivators were staying to seek help from them." He shook his head.

"The boy killed them as calmly, and as easily as blinking an eye!" He shouted in fear.

"He killed them, then he killed my neighbour's son, and soon after that people began falling dead to the ground, one by one. People tried to reason with him, we begged him, we bargained with him, but he didn't stop. Rank, age, wealth, nothing mattered to him, he didn't discriminate as he annihilated my whole village!" He sobbed.

"It wasn't easy escaping the carnage in that demons wake, and my family and I weren't the only ones trying to escape with our lives that day. Everyone was out for themselves, people were fighting each other, running over other people; living or dead, and if someone was in their way, they would remove them, even if that meant killing them themselves."

"We were caught in the middle between two evils, but despite our injuries, my family and I survived and fled as quickly as we could. No one was ahead of us, and no one followed behind."

"Why didn't you ask for help when I caught you this morning? You were trying to make off with as much food and money as you could carry." I asked him. He shrank in on himself in shame.

"Yesterday evening I returned home late after trying to find food. My wife and I have been at odds since I decided that we should stay here… She said it was too dangerous to raise our family here, and she worried that the demon boy might look around nearby towns and villages for any survivors. I told her she was thinking too much, and that the best place to be would be the place right under his nose, but when I came back… When I came back- "He shook his head again, and clutched the toy tightly to his chest.

"It was horrible! I thought this village was cursed!" He shouted.

"There were ghost puppets everywhere! I couldn't…I couldn't," he fumbled for words, "I was afraid for my family, but there was no way I could return to them!"

"You fled without them." I stated solemnly. It explained the injuries, bruises and scrapes on all five of them. It also explained why he was in such a hurry to steal and flee this morning. He probably assumed his family was dead, and he was too afraid to return.

What it didn't explain was how those people were put under corpse poisoning. A sever dose would have turned the people into puppets within hours, but the man's family had been here longer than that, and they weren't affected.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Xiao Xingchen said, "But I don't understand something; why didn't you seek help? Why didn't you tell any one about your village's massacre, or about Kal'Alna and your family?"

"How could I? How could I!" He shouted in despair, and glared at Xiao Xingchen, and then at me, and vile bitterness and resentment filled his eyes.

"If that demon boy heard that someone lived to tell about his sins, then what would have happened to me? I don't have anything to give to anyone for their help either, and what could they do against him anyway? Two cultivators already fell to his sword!"

"I tried to keep my family alive in my heart, I thought I could try to move on and live for their sake…but then you gave me my daughters toy," he sobbed, and bitter tears splashed into the toy he held in his hands, "I abandoned my resolution and ran back home, because you gave me hope, hope that I could see my family again!"

I sucked my cheeks against my teeth until I tasted blood. A lump formed in my throat, built from my guilt, but I swallowed it down as I bowed lowly toward the man.

"And now I believe with certainty that you are not guilty; although I will investigate your story. I apologise for causing you pain, but now I know that you are not the culprit, nor was your wife. I don't have anything to offer you except the assurance that I _will_ find the felon responsible for their untimely deaths, no matter what it takes, and I _will_ bring them to justice!" I swore to him.

I endured my inner torment as he placed his filthy hand on my shoulder and told me to rise. I tried my best to focus on the matter at hand and strained to maintain my composure.

"Thank you, kind cultivator. It still hurts deeply…but it is not your fault that any of this happened. I would have always searched for them, or wondered if they were alive and happy somewhere without me…" He seemed to trail off, and his eyes once again found the toy which had been disfigured

"Perhaps this closure is the motivation I needed to move forward…I just wish… I wish I hadn't run away when I did. I was so frightened of dying that I didn't realise I was running away from the reason I wanted to live. We lost our home, our trade, our money…everything except each other, and even though we argued and we weren't sure what lay ahead of us, we were together, and that was all that mattered." He said, and Xiao Xingchen stepped forward to offer him the vegetables that he picked up from the round. The man took them and thanked him.

"If it eases your hurt only a little, know that their souls have already found peace, and their bodies have returned to the earth," I told him, and he wiped at his eyes as he nodded in thanks, "What do you intend to do now?"

"I will travel back to Kuizhou. I don't know if that demon is still there or not, or if anything is left of our home or our village, but I will try to salvage what I can. The cultivators nearby deserve to know about what happened to their clansmen. After that…I will take one day at a time. Perhaps I will take in a couple of orphans in the future, and try and give them the lives they deserve…that my own children should have had." He told me.

I was touched that this man ended up being such a kind soul. He seemed to be a kindred spirit, with ambitions similar to my own. I smiled at him and nodded in acceptance of his answer.

"Respectable goals, I wish you luck. One day I am going to build a sect that aspires like-mindedness and compassion, instead of materials and blood supremacy. When that dream is accomplished, I hope that you will hear of us, and join us, I would be honoured to have a man like you in my sect." He gaped in shocked, and then bowed many times in succession.

"Thank you, thank you! The honour would be mine! Would you tell me your name, great cultivator, and where you originated from so that I can find you in the future?" He asked me. My neck began sweating profusely after my contact with him, I would need to immediately find a place to bathe. Despite my inner suffering I remained polite, but I could sense that Xiao Xingchen was watching me closely; he probably knew that I was withholding great discomfort.

"I am Song Lan, I received my teachings at Baixue temple," I said, and bowed slightly. He lifted his head and opened his mouth slightly in a gesture of recognition. He held his curled finger toward me and began to mouth words with his mouth.

"I think I've heard of you already, great cultivator! Aren't you the cultivator who wields the frozen blade Fuxue, the twin blade of Shuanghua?" He asked me. A sound of confusion escaped my throat and I furrowed my brow.

"You over praise me, but yes, Fuxue is my blade, but I have never heard of this…Shuanghua before now. Can you tell me anything about Shuanghua and its owner?" I asked him, and he nodded, eager for conversation.

"Yes I can! I heard that the frosted blade Shuanghua is wielded by a humble cultivator adorned in white robes. It's said that he only recently descended the mountain, and on his way down he participated in the night hunt among the four great clans and won first place above even their best contestants!" He said excitedly. Lingering sorrow seemed to hold a mark in his eyes, but he seemed eager to share his knowledge.

"They call him 'The Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze', as they call you 'The Distant Snow and Cold Frost'. Shuanghua was forged from the same frozen star metal as Fuxue, and the spirit of ice stayed within them both, even after being forged under extreme temperatures! Fuxue was forged only from the dark metal, while Shuanghua was forced from the silver, they are the yin and the yang of the cultivation world!" He exclaimed.

Some of what he said I knew already, after all, Fuxue was a unique sword. It was surprising to know that there was another sword just as magnificent somewhere out there that I haven't seen yet.

"I hope that I will be fortunate enough to meet this person one day, I would like to test the keenness of his blade with mine." I said.

Xiao Xingchen smiled and looked between us. It was so radiant that I found myself turning to stare at his ever present, childlike grin.

"I feel impolite and disgraced to be flattered without being properly introduced," he said, and shook his head shyly as he beamed at me. I was quite taken aback, but he retrieved his sword and held it in front of himself as he bowed to us, "I am Xiao Xingchen- "

Xiao Xingchen was rudely cut off by the man beside me who gasped and pointed at him rudely. He then turned to me with wide eyes.

"It's him! 'The Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze', Xiao Xingchen!"


End file.
